


Gotham City Garage (Part 1)

by SteveM



Series: Multiverse Madness [4]
Category: Batwoman (TV 2019), Gotham City Garage (Comics), Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2020-10-11
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:56:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26949337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SteveM/pseuds/SteveM
Summary: With Etheria safe and Oliver having found Kate and Kara the mission to save the multiverse can finally get underway. The first stop is a domed city in the middle of a ruined world, streets bathed in red sunlight and citizens who never break the law...
Relationships: Kara Danvers & Kate Kane, Kara Danvers/Kate Kane
Series: Multiverse Madness [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1931842
Comments: 2
Kudos: 16





	1. Chapter 1

“So how did you get waffles in Etheria anyway?” Kara asked as she wolfed down her third stack of the morning. 

“I’m linked to a trans-dimensional spirit of justice Kara…” Oliver said a little sulkily. “I went to Earth-Prime and piked them up from Toronto.”

“Wait.” Kate interjected, her loaded fork waving in the air, a look of shock on her face. “You’re telling me you could go anywhere, literally anywhere, for waffles… and you went to Canada?”

“Uh… yes?”

“Why? I mean, they’re called *Belgian* waffles for a reason you know.”

“I.. um… may have eaten there once. They were good.”

Kara laughed and started eyeing what was left of Kate’s serving as a way to get her wife to shut up and eat. Or, if that failed, as a way to get more waffles, either was fine with the Kryptonian. It seemed to do the trick as Kate rolled her eyes and slipped the contents of the fork past her lips.

“We appreciate it Ollie.” Kara said and added a sly grin as she finished with “and thank you for going somewhere you knew was good. It’s a sweet thought.”

“You’re welcome.” Oliver replied a little stiffly but something like the ghost of a smile passed over his face. 

“One question while Kate’s finishing up?” Kara asked.

“Only one?”

“How did you lose us? Oh and any idea why we ended up on Etheria?”

“Honestly I’m not sure.” Oliver said with a shrug. “I wish I could give you an answer but the best I can manage is I think whatever greater powers control all of this…” He gestured at the room, the world and the multiverse beyond. “… well, it sometimes needs a bit of help. And you two seem to have a good track record.”

“What makes you say that?” Kara asked, blushing slightly.

“Well let’s see. Fighting aliens on Earth 1, stopping a Nazi invasion from Earth-X, helping myself and Barry swap back to our proper bodies and flying around the planet fast enough to stop time, being the Paragon of Hope and the Paragon of Courage for an entire multiverse, preventing the Queen of Fables taking over all of creation via the power of song… that enough?”

“Well you missed a couple but, okay, fair point.” Kara said. “So is this going to be a regular thing then? Reality throwing us curve balls?”

“I have no idea.” Oliver said and he gave a small chuckle that might as well have been a tsunami of laughter. “I just work here Kara.”

“About that…” Kate said, swallowing the last mouthful of her breakfast. “You still haven’t really told us what we’re doing here. Not in any detail.”

“I know and I’m sorry.” Oliver genuinely looked remorseful as he turned to face Kate. “For the multiverse to balance there must be judgement. But there are certain cases around which the wheels of creation spin and the judgement must be fair for that balance to be maintained. That’s why the Spectre normally picks a living host. It uses their morality, their… compassion to ensure its judgements keep creation turning.”

“So why do you need us? I mean we didn’t know each other that well but if there’s one thing you never lacked it was the courage of your convictions.”

Oliver sighed and lowered the hood. His hair was shot through with grey streaks and now that they could see him clearly he looked considerably older than they remembered. “The fight with the anti-monitor cost me… almost everything.” He said and his voice was tired and heavy with his burdens. “Including most of what made me human. I can remember… some of it. The big moments. The important moments. Felicity… Mia…” His eyes suddenly seemed to be looking at something far away and he sighed again.

“There’s never enough time.” Kate said softly and Oliver looked up, surprised. “Doesn’t matter when we leave, there’s always something more, something left unsaid.”

“Have you… have you seen them?” Kara asked carefully.

“No. No it wouldn’t be right. The dead and the living need to remain apart.”

There was silence for a moment then Kara and Kate shared a very complicated look which ended with Kate nodding agreement to an unspoken question.

“For what it’s worth…” Kara said, reaching out to put a hand on Oliver’s shoulder. “Mia misses you but you’d be so proud of her Ollie. She’s growing into your legacy and making it uniquely hers at the same time. The future’s in good hands with that one.”

“Also she may possibly have hooked up with Lena Luthor as a ‘trying to treat this as casual but who are they kidding’ thing.” Kate added helpfully. “So she’s got great taste and is probably set for life.”

Oliver blinked at the rapid-fire update on his daughter’s life then smiled warmly. “Thank you. Both of you. Have you…”

“We’ve been looking out for her, yes.” Kate said. “Of course we are. She’s part of the family even if she does live a couple of decades in the future.”

Oliver paused again then nodded and reached back to pull the hood up. “If you’re ready we should be moving on.” He said and his voice had a slight echo to it. 

“It’s a shame we can’t say goodbye properly.” Kara said with a sigh as she pulled her glasses from her face and summoned her Supergirl costume. 

“Yeah, I really want to see how Catra got on last night…” Kate said, reaching over to grab the cowl from its spot by the maple syrup.

“It’s better this way.” Oliver said. “Otherwise they may start thinking help will always fall from the stars.”

“Hmm, well, if you say so.” Kara said but she sounded less than convinced.

“Well, that and while we have a little flexibility the Multiverse can only wait so long.” Oliver added offering his hands to the couple. “Hold on tight this time.”

“Hey, you lost us, remember?” Kate said, slapping her armoured hand into his a little harder than strictly necessary. With her other she reached out and took her wife’s hand considerably more gently, Kara’s touch instantly calming any nerves she may have been feeling. Kara smiled as she heard Kate’s heartbeat slow, marvelling as always at the way this remarkable woman trusted her so completely. She took Oliver’s free hand and nodded approval.

“Here we go…” Oliver said and the world shifted around them. Etheria melted away and in its place a new planet grew rapidly under their feet. All around them was blasted, scorched desert. Orange rock stretched to the horizon, sand whirling across the almost-alien landscape like a thick carpet, choking the life out of anything that dared grow there. Overhead the sun blazed and no matter where they looked there wasn’t a hint of blue or green anywhere, no sign of life.

No sign… except the city. And the city was a problem. Mainly because it was about a hundred feet below them as they’d appeared in mid-air! Kate gave a surprised squeak, let go of Oliver and instinctively wrapped herself around Kara, balancing on her wife’s boots as instinctively as breathing.

“What the hell! Oliver!” Kate snapped and the Spectre looked a little guilty.

“Sorry. I’m used to being incorporeal most of the time. I forget it can take some getting used to. But you needed to see this otherwise you won’t understand.

Kara made sure she had a firm grip on Kate just in case Oliver was wrong and looked down. The city was immense, at least as large as any modern city on their Earth and probably larger. It was certainly denser with every inch of space seemingly filled up with buildings, towers constructed virtually on top of smaller, less fortunate condos and shops. All of that though seemed almost irrelevant as it was overshadowed by its biggest and most obvious feature.

The entire city was covered by a gigantic dome. A metal lattice held thousands of transparent panels and Kara noticed that none of them seemed so much as scratched from what had to be near-constant sandstorms and other assaults by the elements in such a devastated world. Below the dome a familiar red glow illuminated the city and Kara shuddered as she recognised red sunlight bathing the streets. She glanced aside and noticed a sign bolted to the top of the structure. As she read it she felt her heart sink and reluctantly nudged Kate around to look in the same direction.

It was a simple plaque mounted to face the sky. It reminded Kara of the sort of plate you’d find on a limited edition car or other exotic machine bragging about how it was 1 of 10 in the whole world. Why it was there or mounted in such a way to only be visible to airborne eyes Kara had no idea but the text on it was clear and simple.

“LexCorp Shielding Dome 001. Gotham City.”


	2. Chapter 2

“Not that I’m complaining but… why aren’t we falling towards the ground at high speed?” Kate asked, still clinging to Kara while trying to absorb the fact that the shattered scene below her was her home.

“We don’t exist in the same physical dimension as the rest of the world.” Oliver said as if that was any sort of explanation. “We can go where we wish without being seen.”

“But then how do we help?” Kara asked, confused.

“I told you, we’re not here to help. You’re here to help guide judgement.”

“What? How can we do possibly do that?”

“By seeing the events that need to be judged.” Oliver sounded like that was the most natural thing in the world but both Kate and Kara looked uneasy. 

“And who are we judging?” Kate said quietly, looking out over the dome-wrapped city below them,

“In this case, Lex Luthor.”

“Wait, Lex? How can we be impartial enough to…” Kara said, shocked, but Oliver cut her off.

“You will be. When needed you will be. Now though events are unfolding that you need to witness.”

“Huh, what are....woah!” Kate doubled her grip as they suddenly fell down and passed without so much as a flicker through the dome. Beneath it the city stretched out, different than Kate knew it but still recognisably Gotham. People thronged the streets all with smiles on their faces but something was clearly wrong. Scattered throughout the crowd were tall robotic forms moving slowly but purposefully, their heads turning to scan individuals that went by. All of it was bathed in a warm red glow from countless solar emitters embedded in the dome above their heads.

“You okay?” Kara asked quietly and Kate gave her a quick, soft look as she nodded. 

“Yeah, it’s odd seeing it like this but… yeah, I’m fine. You? That seems to be red sunlight…”

“I told you, we don’t exist in this reality.” Oliver interjected. “Kara’s powers are being fed by me and neither of you can be hurt here.”

Kate was about to reply when there was a cry from somewhere close by. A young woman was crouched on one knee, her hands wrapped around her head and moaning in pain.

“Ezzz… issss… nmnnnn” Her voice was an odd mix of human and technical but while she didn’t same capable of forming words the pain was clear. Behind her the crowd slid apart and two of the robots walked towards her, their arms raised and rifles forming from the metal.

“Citizen malfunction detected. Clear the area. Prepare for immediate termination.”

“Hey, stop!” The voice came from somewhere to the right and once more the crowd slid aside to let a very familiar figure through.

“Authorisation: Ridealong Technician KK831. Kane, Kara. Let me through!”

“Kara… that’s…”

“Yeah…” Kara stared in shock at the young woman walking confidently up to the machines. It was her, of that there was no doubt. The face was hers just as she’d been in her early twenties and the blue leather trousers and high-collar jacket over a simple white T-shirt did nothing to hid the identical figure. But…

“Kane?” Kara whispered, looking at Kate with wide eyes.

“Yeah, I heard it too…” Kate said but then they had to focus on the scene unfolding in front of them as the younger Kara reached out gently to the afflicted woman.

“Shh, it’s gonna be okay. I just need to look at your ridealongs, alright?” Her hands brushed through the woman’s long hair and the unseen audience caught a glimpse of metal implants, one behind each ear. Kara’s fingers worked and they caught the flicker of a virtual display floating in front of her eyes. After a few seconds she sat back and smiled.

“There we go. How’re you feeling?”

“Thank you. Nothing was ever wrong.” The woman’s voice was back to normal but the lack of emotion seemed to be even more machine-like than the glitching buzz they’d first heard. “Lex loves you.” The woman smiled, turned and walked away as the machines behind Kara lowered their guns and looked at each other then, without her seeing them, down at Kara.

The world shifted around the trio of watchers and they found themselves standing in what was clearly an upscale apartment. The door slid open and they saw the younger Kara walk in clearly a little cautious.

“Hey, whoever left the outer door open, fair warning that there is now a Kara in the domicile!”

“Kara…” The voice was quiet and clearly in distress. Kara immediately raced for the kitchen, turning the corner with her back to the large picture window overlooking the city drenched in the red sunlight that seemed near-constant.

“Dad? Shouldn’t you be at the Lexes? What’s going…”

“They know.” Jacob Kane groaned, one hand to his forehead, a bottle of whiskey open in front of him.

“Dad? You’re scaring me.” Kara’s voice was trembling as she put one arm around his shaking shoulders.

“Good. Scared might keep you alive.” He grunted as a fresh wave of pain hit him but looked at Kara with love in his eyes. “The call came directly to my office. I made sure I’d always know. Give you a fighting chance…” He shook again and Kara noticed the blood around his eyes.

“Dad, something’s wrong…”

“The Gardners…” He continued as if she hadn’t spoken. “When you helped that woman they saw… “

“Dad, stop! Something’s wrong!”

He turned to place his hands on her shoulders and she felt the effort it was costing him to keep talking. “When I found you…”

“When… when you… found me?” Kara suddenly looked like her world was crumbling and Jacob Kane pulled her into an embrace.

“I love you. But he’s here…”

The window exploded and a figure came tumbling through the glass. Over six foot tall and built like a tank with dark grey armour broken only by glowing white eyes and the black bat logo on his chest he hurled two Batarangs, one at each of the Kanes’.

“No!” Jacob shoved Kara behind him, taking both of the throwing stars to his shoulders. “Go! Kara go! Get to the sun!”

Everything in her wanted to stay, to demand answers… but his command echoed in her ears and she took off, sprinting for the door. She burst into the corridor and saw the shape beyond the window at the far end. A Gardner floating on a flight disc. Without thinking she lowered her head and charged, her shoulder breaking the glass as she leapt out and barged the robot from its perch. Her feet slammed into the metal and she guided the disc at top speed into the city, bouncing off the edges of buildings in a mad scramble towards the rooftops. She didn’t have a plan, not really, but the Bat was back there and at ground level. Up was away. Up bought her time.

A shot rang out from below and the disc bucked as a chunk exploded. She had time to see Him below, the bike angled up towards her as its canon reloaded. Cursing she dove from the disc, rolling on the rooftops the dome tantalisingly close. Get to the sun, get to the sun… but she couldn’t break the dome! Not alone anyway…

There was a thud from behind her and two Gardners landed on their own discs. She slapped her forearm and a set of control schemes burst into life on her virtual display. Her fingers flew as she saw the Gardners reconfigure, their limbs shifting to the lethal energy weapons they used for the most dangerous criminals within the garden of Gotham. She ignored them, it didn’t matter, either this would work or she would die…

“Command override! Lexes Kane J Delta Omega!” She barked the words and held her breath… and the Garners froze. It had worked. It wouldn’t for long but she didn’t need it to!

“All Gardners, target the dome and open fire!” The metal figures moved as one, spinning on the spot and sending up a withering barrage of blue light that burst the glass apart like tissue paper. A second volley cleared out the edges of the panel then they froze, rebooting from her override.

“The sun… you said get to the sun…” Kara muttered, eyeing the short gap to the suddenly-open dome and the unthinkable drop beyond. “Okay dad… here goes nothing!”

She ran at the edge of the roof, gathered herself… and jumped. She felt one shard of glass snag on her jacket then she was through, out in the open air for the first time in her life, the bright, warm yellow sun beating down on her. And she was falling!

Only

Only…

She wasn’t falling down towards the desert. She was falling up and out, falling away from the Garden… no… not falling…

“I’m flying!” The words were a scream of delight and terror as she hurtled into the sky, her arms thrown out wide as she soared into the sky… then her world was engulfed in fire!

She smashed into the ground almost without realising it, the shock of the last few seconds paralysing her to reality. Her body hurt but she could still move, could still drag herself to her feet. She shouldn’t be able to do that, her mind insisted, she’d just fallen hundreds of feet after being… being…

The clank of the Gardners through the dust alerted her and she turned, exhausted, to face them. One was shifting its arm back from the rocket launcher that had brought her tumbling to earth but the others were already pointing their energy weapons at her. 

“Sorry dad, I tried…” Kara whispered the words, her fingers pushing into the sand and dirt that surrounded her.

She suddenly realised that there was another sound rising quickly over the metal whirrs of the Gardners and the forces surrounding her were turning, their weapons pointed out towards a new threat. She couldn’t see but she could hear the rising growl of… of engines…


	3. Chapter 3

“What the hell is that?” Kate asked from where she floated beside Kara and Oliver, their bodies now suspended fifty feet above the impending battle. She was starting to get used to that at least, though she was still making sure to keep one hand on Kara just in case Oliver had a sudden bout of forgetfulness and gravity noticed them. Now her primary worry was her vision which seemed to be working overtime. Despite being so high up she could focus on the younger Kara kneeling in the dirt and see her as clearly and as close as she would had she been kneeling beside her. She dragged her eyes to the horizon, fighting back her instincts to rush to the blonde’s side to defend her, and took in the rapidly approaching wall of dust.

“Hope.” Oliver said simply. “Watch.”

As the rumble of engines grew four ramshackle motorbikes burst from the dust cloud and tore into the fight. The women riding them were clearly ready and willing to dive headlong into danger and before the Gardners could react three of the robots had hit the ground. Kate realised with a start she recognised all four of the newcomers, though they looked slightly different to the women she knew.

In the lead, riding something that looked like a cross between a chopper and a sports bike with a long, swooping fairing decked out in gleaming chrome was a white-clad figure, blonde hair flowing behind her. Blue eyes that looked like they could cut through steel with a glance narrowed as she took her left hand off the bars and flicked out a thin sword at neck height. A moment later a Gardner’s head landed in the dirt followed by its collapsing body and Sara Lance chalked another tiny victory over the Garden to her tally.

Around the perimeter two bikes roared in opposite directions, trapping the Gardners within their wide circle. On them two women wearing tactical combat gear kept their mounts under control with casual ease while firing odd, stubby machine guns one handed with pinpoint accuracy. Kate wasn’t surprised to see such skill from Alex Danvers, though the scar on the right side of her face from the bottom of her eye to the side of her mouth was disturbing to see. She was slightly more shocked to see Killer Frost demonstrating such proficiency and wondered where she’d picked up that particular skill.

The fourth rider was the most unexpected and Kate noticed that Kara - her Kara that is - didn’t seem to be able to look away. The face was unmistakably that of Lena Luthor… but the expression she wore was something entirely new. Neither of them had ever seen that particular mix of gleeful abandon and pure terror before and it chilled them to the bone. The Lena they knew was always so controlled, so precise and while they’d seen her scared before that fear always seemed to come with an anger which drove her to overcome it. Apparently that wasn’t the case in this world… not that it seemed to matter to her as she drifted her bike to a stop, one foot in the dirt to keep it upright, reached down and yanked a rocket launcher from its place strapped to the bike frame. There was a woosh of exhaust and four Gardners shattered into pieces.

The younger Kara was on her hands and knees, looking up open-mouthed as heroes, actual heroes, rode to her rescue. She was so distracted in fact she never noticed the Gardner stalking towards her.

“Kid, behind you!” Sara called holding the throttle open with her left hand as her right grabbed a whip from a holster on the front fork. She snapped it through the air and wrapped the leather lash around the Gardner’s throat. Kara spun in shock and her right hand landed on robotic debris, an entire arm lying in the dirt. She realised with a start that she felt… different. Stronger. Something was changing and her body felt like it was coming alive for the first time. Her hands closed around the wrist of the dismembered arm…

“Thanks…” She spun on the spot, rising and bringing the metal up like a club so hard it decapitated the Gardner in one stroke, freeing Sara’s whip in the process. “But I got it!”

Sara brought her bike to a stop alongside Kara and looked her up and down. “I don’t doubt it.” She looked beyond the young blonde and noticed movement back in the direction of the Garden. “We’re going to have a lot more company though so I doubt you’d object to a free ride?”

“Uh… no?” Kara said, a little thrown off by the unexpectedly flirty edge to the question.

“Great, hop on and hold tight. Trust me I won’t mind.”

Kara threw a leg over the back of the bike and the moment her butt was on the seat they were flying forward, the other women pulling into formation alongside them as they tore away from the impromptu battleground. Alex pulled her bike up alongside and shouted over to Kara.

“Girl we saw your breach. An enemy of the Garden’s a potential ally but out trust doesn’t come easy. What’s your name?”

“Kara. Kara Kane.”

“Oracle, run that signal…” Alex said into what appeared to be a comm device.

“Who are you talking to? And where are we going?” Kara asked, suddenly wondering if this had been such a good idea.

“Sweetie, this is the Freescape. The wasteland. The ruins of Earth.” Sara said over her shoulder, concentrating on the treacherous ground in front of them. “And we’re taking you to the very worst spot.”

****

“How did you do it?” The voice bounced off the walls of the cave, deep and cracked with a life of harsh experience.

“Ask your boss, he’s the one who put source code in everyone’s brains.” Jacob Kane ground out the words around the pain in his ribs. It hurt to breathe, to live… but pain was quickly becoming meaningless.

“You’re saying you created her memories.”

“I’m saying go to hell, Bruce. That’s what I’m saying.” Jacob grunted as a boot struck him in the side, miraculously avoiding the broken bones and not doing any further damage beyond a fresh, dull bloom of pain.

“Why? Help me understand.” The voice was suddenly calm, patient… but not compassionate. Any warmth it may have possessed had been lost long ago.

“Because she was a teenage girl. Because what he was doing to her was monstrous.:

“You malfunctioned.”

Jacob shook his head, tears in his eyes. “No. For once in my miserable life I functioned right.”

“Does Kate know?” There was no attempt to hide the threat in the question and Jacob raised his head, looking up at the Bat in front of him with nothing but honesty in his eyes.

“She has no idea. I… I changed her too.”

“Good.”

“Yeah? Because that’s the part that keeps me up at night.” Jacob kept looking up but the tears flowed freely now. He knew his future was certain but the tears weren’t for himself. His mind was locked on his daughters, the danger they now faced because of him… and the hope that they may just find a path out of the darkness.

“Not for much longer. For what it’s worth Jacob… I’m glad I only have to kill one Kane tonight.” Bruce reached out with both hands and with casual ease snapped Jacob Kane’s neck.

“NO!” Kate yelled and tried to lunge forward but she passed right through Bruce leaving the echo of the snap behind her in the darkness as the cave faded away. Immediately Kara was alongside her, arms wrapped around her wife and holding her tightly. Her shoulders shook as silent sobs wracked her for a minute then, as if remembering where she was, she suddenly stilled and looked over at the hooded Oliver.

“Why?” Kate snarled the word. “Why did you bring us here? Why didn’t you warn me!”

“You had to see. The judgement must be complete.”

Kate tensed and felt Kara shift slightly, pulling her a little closer, hands gliding across her back to soothe the fire raging inside. Kate drew a slow, halting breath and tried to calm her mind.

“If this is what you’ve become.…” She said quietly, pausing as if searching for the right words. “No wonder you need us to guide you.”

Just for a moment Kara caught a glimpse beneath the hood and saw the pain on Oliver’s face. But just as quickly as it had come it vanished. 

“Let’s go.” Kara said, still holding Kate. “Show us what we need to see.”

***

The three watchers snapped back into reality outside a rusted and pitted metal building. It looked like an old aircraft hanger, a giant curve of metal stretching back with the ground floor built out into something closer to an office block. From the roof three large towers rose up to give a view over the surrounding desert and several huge cargo containers lay scattered around the edge of the building.

“Woah, is this your place?” Kara asked Sara who laughed and shook her head.

“No, this place belongs to her.” She pointed and a figure wheeled out of the shadows. 

“Welcome to Gotham City Garage young blood.” The spectral Kara stiffened and peered closer then glanced over at Oliver who was staring at the newcomer with an intensity that worried her.

It was a young woman, maybe in her thirties with blonde hair and a world-weary look sitting in a motorised wheelchair. Though what concerned Kara right then was the double barrelled shotgun being pointed at her face.

“Now leave.” The command was deadly serious and the gun didn’t waver so much as an inch.

“A show of force? Not like you Felicity.” Sara said, carefully stepping out of the line of fire.

“Not when the Garage is at stake. That’s Jacob Kane’s daughter Sara. Princess of the Lexes. We got played.”

“Hey, no, nobody played you! I’m not a spy or anything, they were trying to kill me!” Kara said urgently, her hands in the air.

“Were they?” Alex asked as her, Frost and Lena all moved to one side, clearing the area around Kara. “Because I saw you take a rocket to the head, crash-land and live. So you’re either as tough as maybe five people on the planet… or that was a setup.”

“I’ll get the shovel.” Lena said quietly.

“Once chance. What are you, stranger?” Sara said and the look in her eyes left Kara in no doubt she meant it.

“I… I…” The young blonde stared, trying to answer the impossible question. “I don’t know. But here’s some stuff I do! I know my whole life I’ve been looking for freedom under every sewer grate. I know my dad broke the rules to save my life. I know Luthor and the Bat want me dead. I know I didn’t just jump from that wall. I flew! And I know you didn’t save me just to put a bullet in my chest.”

She paused, looking around the group but found a bunch of unreadable blank stares looking back. Her head dropped with a quiet sigh. “You wanna leave me out here to die, fine. I didn’t ask for your help then. I’m not asking for it now. But if you kill me… you’ll be the ones working for Luthor.”

Sara moved over to Felicity, knelt down beside her and lowered her voice but the three watchers could hear her perfectly. “If she’s telling the truth she could be an ally.”

“And if she’s lying it’s the end of everything.”

“Since when does fear make our choices?” Sara reached out and placed her hand on Felicity’s shoulder who shook her head with an exasperated sigh as she shouldered the gun.

“You coming?” She asked Kara as she turned and guided her chair back into the depths of the Garage.

“Just… just like that?”

“If there’s one thing we respect here it’s freedom.” Felicity said as she led Kara through the outer rooms. “Tomorrow… well, we’ll see. But for tonight at least you’re welcome here.” 

They entered a huge space that seemed to be right in the middle of the old hanger. One end was dominated by a makeshift bar while tables and booths were scattered around though not a single piece of furniture matched. All through the space were men and women with the look of hard lives on them yet all seemed content. That might have had something to do with the pitchers in their hands but there was a sense of peace to the space. From the ceiling several trophies hung and Kate recognised a scale model of a space shuttle, the remains of a world war two era P-51cockpit and…

“Kara…” Kate whispered, her eyes locked on a large cylindrical object with fins on the back. It looked a first glance like an oversized bomb but that wasn’t what had caught their eye. 

“I see it.” The Girl of Steel replied. On the nosecone a very familiar symbol stared back, a red stylised S on a yellow background, all wrapped in a red triangle.

“Can you see what’s inside it?”

“No, it’s shielded somehow.”

“So what the hell is it? Oliver?”

“Patience.” The Spectre said but there was something in his voice that said this wasn’t just a deflection. The two women looked at each other and Kara gave a subtle shrug. It wasn’t as if there was anything they could do about it right now anyway…

In the room around them all eyes were suddenly locked on the bar as Sara jumped casually to its slick surface and her voice echoed around the abruptly silent space.

“Listen up lowlifes! There was a city, once. Terrible weather, worse traffic. But it was special. Vibrant. The kind of dangerous that makes you sharp. A free city! You know the rest. The devil paved over its soul, filled it with machines. The mysteries of the old world, things like this relic behind me?” She gestured at the cylinder with one hand. “Luthor wrote the names out of history. Took the meaning from the symbols. But here, we remember. We remember what it means to be free!” She scooped up a tankard and raised it in toast to the entire room. “To Gotham!”

The room echoed the toast and the drinking began in earnest. Alex walked up to Kara with a rueful expression on her face. “See why you’d be wise to run, little princess? Our fight is just beginning. A war we’ll take to the walls of the Garden until we tear the reins of control from your poor, blinded comrades. A war we’ll bring to your home. Your father and all those like him.”

Kara bristled at the last part and, unseen behind her, Kate did the same. 

“You don’t know anything about my father.” Kara said quietly as if just now realising what had happened that day. “He didn’t teach me to run. He taught me to fight.”

Alex smiled and put her hand on Kara’s shoulder. “Then you must decide… what are you fighting for?”

The world seemed to speed up and Kara, Kate and Oliver watched the young woman consider the question as the party raged around her. She was clearly torn, her mind full of questions with no answers. Eventually she found herself alone on a couch, a few sleeping drunks elsewhere in the bar her only company with the lights dimmed to let them rest. She’d turned her jacket around to act as a blanket but she couldn’t sleep.

Her eyes kept getting drawn back to the odd cylinder suspended from the ceiling. Something about it called to her and no matter how she tried she couldn’t ignore it. Quietly, making sure not to disturb anyone, she got to her feet, walked over and climbed up on the bar. She reached up a hand and hesitated before brushing her fingertips across the surface of the strange symbol. She’d half-expected there to be an explosion or a big flash of light. Instead there was just more silence… and a word. A single word suddenly blazing in her mind and she had no idea why.

“Hope…” She whispered it so quietly she almost couldn’t hear it herself but the word floated in the air and suddenly her doubts vanished. The path before her was still dark but she knew the first step and that was enough. Slipping back to the ground she wove her way into one of the workshops they’d passed on the way in and pulled out two cans from a rack on one wall. She carefully placed her jacket across the back of a chair and concentrated…

Time blurred again and suddenly it was morning. Sara Lance had come to check on the new arrival only to find her gone from the bar. A quick check of the building revealed her curled up on the floor, her head pillowed on her bare arms and the smell of spray paint lingering on the air. Sara turned and spotted the blue jacket and suddenly felt like something she didn’t quite understand but yet vitally important had happened. There, on the back of the jacket, was the same S symbol she was so used to seeing hanging above Felicity’s bar and for a moment it seemed to pulse like a beacon. Sara had seen enough in her time to trust her instincts and as she looked from the jacket to the sleeping woman and back again she knew that overnight the world had changed… she just didn’t know how.


	4. Chapter 4

Days span by in an instant and Kate had to close her eyes as the world blurred dizzyingly around them.

“Can you at least warn me when you’re going to do that?” She said to Oliver but the warmth of Kara’s arm sliding around her shoulders was at least a little compensation for the rolling in her stomach.

“Sorry.” Oliver muttered. “But Kara doesn’t have any problems with…”

“None of that or I’ll throw you into the next universe.” Kara said casually. “I’m used to moving at super speed so seeing the world do weird things is a fact of life. And even then it took me about a year to get used to it. Kate’s doing better than I did, there’s a surprisingly large amount of rocks in Midvale that ended up being hugged while I waited for the world to settle down.”

They looked at the main workshop of the Garage with the women bustling around the bikes. In one corner far removed from the rest of the work the younger Kara was concentrating on a black desert bike, checking and adjusting the mechanicals before hopping on and doing a quick figure 8 as she tried to get used to the clutch. At the back wall Sara was crouched down finishing up some minor maintenance to the exhaust system of her own chromed pride and joy when Felicity wheeled up behind her.

“She’s not ready.” Sara said without turning around but keeping her voice low.

“I’m not asking.” Felicity replied in the same hushed tone. “Sorry Sara but if she’s gonna stay here and drain our supplies she’s gonna have to pull her weight. We can barely support ourselves these days and god knows the customers aren’t exactly a goldmine.”

“I’m not taking her out.” Sara said bluntly, turning to face Felicity though she stayed kneeling so they were on the same level. “She’ll needlessly endanger the job.”

“Ooh! There’s a job! Where are we going?”

Despite everything Kate couldn’t help but chuckle at the excited optimism on the younger Kara’s face as she super-sped her way to kneel between the two women and place an arm on their shoulders. “Some things never change…” Kate said quietly and saw her Kara blush.

Sara sighed and led Kara over to a table where several spotless tools held down a hand drawn map. She pointed to a large red area marked ‘Dead Zone’ and tapped it with a finger. 

“Alex says there’s a truck moving parts and supplies from a Garden refinery in the south. Just the sort of thing we need to keep this place open and keep riding. East of Clay Valley, just along the route, there’s a reception dead zone. Lexes will be out of contact, they won’t see us coming and they can’t turn away into the Valley.”

“So it’s a heist? We’re doing a heist!” Kara said drinking it in and the unseen Kate felt the groan from alongside her.

“Aww, cute.” She teased while keeping her attention locked on the scene. “Was this what you were like when you first found the DEO?”

“Umm…. No?”

“Real convincing sweetie.”

Sara sighed and shook her head. “Let’s get one thing clear Garden Meat. If you’re going to ride with us you’d better wipe that smile off your face before the road does it for you.”

“Got it. No smiling.” Kara said seriously but she couldn’t quite had the grin at the mission before her.

“You may want to listen to her.” Lena’s voice cut across the conversation like jagged glass. “There are more horrors out there than you can imagine. Almost as many as there are in here…”

The striking woman walked over and ran a finger along Kara’s jaw. “I’ve seen so many smiles over the years… and most of them were hiding screams. At least, they were after I’d shown them true horror.” She stumbled slightly and glared at Kara. “Pretty princess used to her tower. Well you’re as far from that as you can possibly be. Better get ready for what comes next.” 

With that she turned and left as silently as she’d arrived leaving Kara staring at Sara in shock.

“What… what was…”

Sara sighed and shook her head. “It’s a very long story Kara. Lena has… has seen more than most of us. Too much. Made mistakes but haven’t we all? She left the Garden, just like you, but where you flew she crawled.”

“Is she… okay?”

“No. About as far from okay as you can get.” Felicity said. “But she knows it and uses it to fight. Some days - most days really - I think it’s all she cares about. Fighting back, fixing something that can’t be fixed.”

“Can I…?”

“No.” Felicity said flatly. “No you can’t help her. We’ve all tried. We can’t reach her. Instead we do what we can, try to work with her to bring down the Garden… to bring down Lex. Maybe, eventually, help her find peace.”

“But…”

“Enough history.” Sara said firmly, taking Kara by the hand and leading her to the black bike she’d been working on. “Time to go write a little bit of the future.”

****

The world lurched again and the watchers found themselves in a very familiar cave. The tech was considerably more advanced but to Kate it still, somehow, felt like home. And sitting there, right in the middle of it and looking like she owned the place was… Kate Kane. Like Kara’s doppelgänger she was a few years younger than the unseen version watching from alongside the Spectre and unlike Kate her hair was shoulder length and a deep red. The fashion sense seemed similar though with black trousers and jacket over a white top, a harsh but somehow flattering cut to both. Her fingers were flying over multiple keyboards and she was barking orders into a headset.

“Then scour block 7 again until you find their trail and report in when you need backup!” She turned slightly to look at a different monitor and tapped a key. “237G7 recalibrate your signal, I need 100% fidelity within the network. Red team, Authorisation Firestorm, you are free to use critical force. And you…”

She turned in her seat and a hulking shape stepped from the shadows at the back of the cave. “You should still be on patrol Bruce. What did you find?”

The Bat walked forward with the same measured tread as an executioner. He reached out his hand and offered her a disk. “I’m sorry.”

Kate loaded the disk into the nearest computer and a series of images popped up from multiple security cameras. They stitched themselves into a timeline and resolved into a shot of Kara on the flying disk fleeing her apartment. Their apartment…

“That’s Kara, the night Dad died. What’s she… I don’t understand.”

“Go back.” It was a command and Kate’s hands automatically tapped at the controls. She saw Kara barge the Gardner off the disc then jump in reverse back through the window, the glass healing itself behind her. 

“Wait, what…”

“Back.”

The camera shifted to show Kara standing over the body of Jacob Kane and both Kate’s gave a sharp hiss as if hiding a sob. 

“I… I don’t want to see this.”

“You have to. Back!” Bruce insisted and Kate’s fingers moved as if someone else was controlling them. The screen froze and Kate stared in horror as she saw her sister with her hands wrapped around their father’s throat, a cold look on her face as she squeezed the life from him.

For a few minutes neither spoke then Kate said in a choked voice. “You’re… you’re sure?”

“It’s been authenticated Kate. That’s her. The woman who killed your father.”

Kate reached out and braced herself on the edge of the console, shoulders trembling.

“I know it’s hard to process.” Bruce’s voice was kind on the surface but the three watchers heard the coldness beneath. “I can instruct ridealong control to administer higher levels of dopamine if you need it.”

“I don’t.” Kate said and her voice was ice. “Kara was always special. Always different. I should’ve seen the signs, should’ve know. Maybe then I could have gotten there before she overrode her ridealongs.. She must have been planning it for months… free will junkie…” For a moment the ice turned to fire as she growled out “damn it Kara!”.

She took a deep breath, steadying herself. “Where is she?”

“The Freescape. We believe she’s riding with Oracle’s malcontents.”

“Then why aren’t we out there getting justice for my father!”

“Their location is still unknown to us.”

“So we get Gardners in the air! Since when was the Bat afraid of doing detective work?”

“Silence!” Suddenly the cave seemed menacing as Bruce towered over Kate but she turned to him defiantly.

“No. Do you remember what you told me the first day you brought me here? We hurt those who would cause hurt. Hunt those who would be hunters. We preserve justice in the Garden.”

“It’s still true.” Bruce rumbled. “But we must not do so indiscriminately. Find out where they are Kate.”

“And then…?”

Bruce had been turning to go but he paused and looked at her thoughtfully.

“What do you want? Justice for your father or to try and save your sister?”

“She killed my dad. Do you really have to ask that question?”

He nodded and tapped a control. The far wall turned and a very familiar suit rotated into view.

“Find her… then we hunt together.”

He walked out leaving Kate alone. For a moment she was on the verge of tears before shaking them away angrily. Time for that later. She had a job to do but first… first…. 

She walked up to the newly-revealed suit. She’d never seen it in her life yet had suspected it was there since that first day she’d been brought here, from the first moment Bruce had chosen to train her personally. She reached out a hand and ran her fingers over the cowl.

“Finally…”


	5. Chapter 5

Sara, Alex and Kara parked their bikes at the top of a stone hill, waiting for the dust cloud on the horizon to draw closer. The experienced riders settled in to wait, their eyes trained on their target. Between them the excited blonde could barely sit in the saddle, her hair flowing in the desert wind as her fingers tapped on the handle bars.

“So… can I ask a question real quick?” Kara blurted out and pretended not to hear the sigh from Alex.

“We have time.” Sara said quietly.

“Well back in the Garden there were all these stories about what was out here! And some of them, uh, well… most of them were kinda terrifying. But after meeting all of you I’m thinking that wasn’t right.”

“Oh we’re terrifying.” Alex said casually, turning to let the sunlight pick out her scar. “You’re just on our… good side right now.”

“Right.” Kara squeaked then seemed to focus and carry on. “Anyway, I was thinking… if they lied about you then maybe they lied about, uh, well… I was just wondering if… I mean maybe… when I…”

“Spit it out new blood.” Alex growled as the first growl of an engine reached their ears.

“When do I get to meet Wonder Woman?” Kara blurted out and immediately reddened in embarrassment as Alex chuckled and said “Myth.”

“Oh.” Kara’s head fell and the disappointment was obvious. Not that they had any time to dwell on it as all of a sudden a truck popped out from the dust, it’s engine barking as it raced over the rough ground. 

“There it is. Alex, take point. Kara…”

“Stay with you. I got it.” Kara said with a smile as they shot over the edge and roared down towards their target. As they gathered speed and the wind tore at body she found herself flashing back to her escape from the Garden and that moment when she’d leapt into thin air… 

“Company!” Alex called and both Sara and Kara looked in the direction she was pointing. From the dust cloud, a little way behind the truck but closing quickly, came at least a dozen bikes. Not as elaborate or impressive as those used by the Gotham City Garage and even from here Sara could see that at least a couple were running rough enough they were barely able to keep up. But each carried a muscled figure and all of those figures wore bright red body armour over black leather.

“The Red Hood M.C.” Sara shouted to Kara. “Not good!”

“I’ve got the truck.” Kara replied, pinning the throttle and hunkering down over the bars.

“No! Stay back like you’re told!” Sara yelled but it was already too late. Kara closed the gap in what seemed like a heartbeat and as her bike started to pass the drivers side of the truck she jumped from the saddle to land on all fours on top of the cab. She stumbled from the impact and the momentum sent her back slamming into the raised body of the truck but it didn’t seem to slow her down.

“Lexes actual, this is Garden convoy 738 reporting an outlaw interception! Do you read me! Hello? Anyone!?” The voice was coming from inside the cab and Kara wasn’t sure how much time they had before the truck left the radio dead zone. She reached down and yanked the door handle, slamming it open and pulling the driver out as gently as she could. She tried to make sure to throw him out at the right angle to minimise the danger and to her relief saw him roll as he hit the ground.

“Sorry! Nothing personal!” She called after him as she slid into the cab and shut the door behind her. “Okay Kara, slow and easy, you can do this…” She muttered under her breath as she tried to get used to the unfamiliar controls.

“She made it.” Alex commented as the two GCG bikes split to go either side of the truck before reforming behind it.

“Dumb luck.” Sara said with a snarl, her hand dipping down into one of the hidden compartments in the fairing to pull up a pistol. She took careful aim and popped the front tyre of two Red Hood bikes, sending them skidding to the ground. Alex wasn’t so kind, aiming her own gun at shoulder and chest, sending three more down to the desert floor. They looped around to take formation behind the truck as the Red Hood bikes scattered out to get some distance. Sara looked up and froze as she saw two figures hanging on to the side of the truck. The one on top was still close to the rear but the one on the side had almost reached the cab.

Before she could yell a warning she saw him throw a punch through the open window. Kara never saw it coming and her head rocked backwards but to her surprise it didn’t really hurt. The fist was followed by a foot long knife in the other hand as the man leaned in through the window, his waist resting on the frame as he pushed the blade towards her neck.

“This truck is ours!” He yelled in Kara’s face as she turned, hands still on the wheel but her knees brought up to her chest.

“Is it? Because.. I’m still… driving!” She kicked out and her feet slammed into his chest. He wasn’t prepared for the power from the slim body and the blade dropped from his fingers.

“And I don’t take hitchhikers!” Kara finished, pulling back and kicking again, this time getting much better leverage. He flew back off the truck with a surprised grunt and clattered into the dirt. It had taken too long though, the other man was almost to the cab and Sara could see the gun in his hand. 

Cursing she jammed the throttle open and tapped a button on the right of her fuel gauge. She felt the bike shiver as the automated systems took over and jumped up to crouch on the seat. Closer… closer… she could practically put her palm flat on the rear door before she hurled herself upwards, clearing the metal and landing in a combat crouch on the top of the truck.

“Nice jump.” The man said and the voice behind his full face helmet was surprisingly cultured. “But the Red Hoods don’t share. Not even for one as pretty as you.” The gun in his hand raised towards her… and went flying as a perfectly judged round from Alex knocked it spinning from his hand. Sara slapped a hand to her thigh and popped the hidden bow staff, feeling the comforting weight as it extended in her grasp. 

She lunged forward, catching him by surprise with a rattling blow to his ribs and a follow up glancing shot to his wrist as he tried to block the next attack. She jabbed with the end like a pike, pushing him back towards the cab as she looked for an opening either to do some proper damage or just knock him from the bucking truck. 

“You’re good!” The man said with what sounded like genuine admiration. “Quick too. But I got a sneaking suspicion…”

He threw himself backwards, flipping in the air as he dropped from the top of the truck to the long hood to land facing a shocked Kara in the driver’s seat. “… that this one isn’t.” He pointed the gun right at her head and Sara yelled in a voice that left no room for disobedience.

“Kara! Get out!”

Kara didn’t hesitate. She threw herself full length out of the open side window as the windscreen disintegrated in a hail of bullets. Once more she found herself falling and this time there was no doubt that gravity had her. Until a hand reached down and snagged her round the waist. She looked up and found Sara hanging by one arm from the side of the truck, grunting with the effort. The roar of a new engine herald the arrival of Sara’s chrome bike pulling up alongside them and in an awkward moment they managed to jump and fall onto the seat, Kara once again settling behind Sara.

“That was…” Kara gasped, trying to wrap her head around what Sara had just done, the strength and skill it had needed.

“Not the end of this.” Sara said quietly as the truck changed course, cutting hard to the left.

“East.” Alex said, pulling up behind them.

“They think we won’t follow.” Sara said grimly, setting herself for the task ahead.

“Why? What’s east?” Kara asked, suddenly nervous.

“You’re about to find out. Do exactly as I say and you may survive this.” Sara replied as they raced after the truck and the two remaining Red Hood MC riders flanking it.

Ahead a canyon grew from the ground but it looked nothing like the rest of the desert. The walls were spikes, rocky rib cages of long dead beasts and at the entrance a rough archway with jagged stalactites welcomed them like a gaping maw.

“Listen close new blood.” Sara said as they started to close the distance. “They say in the days when the Freescape was young a man bereft of all he’d had in the old world stepped to a crossroads in this valley. He’d been famous, they say. Beloved by millions, A name said with reverence. A name written in lights. But the dark age had not just changed the world. It had not only driven the seas to vapour and burned the cities of man. No. It had also changed him. Stripped him of his famous face, destroyed his home. And so, the say, he came to crossroads here and made a new one.”

Without warning the ground around the truck exploded upwards with what looked like liquid rock. The spires twisted and writhed as if alive, deformed limbs reaching out with hands and mouths and teeth for the intruder.

“Welcome to the Canyons of Clay!” Sara called, slamming the bike hard to one side then the other to dodge the next wave of eldritch limbs that reached not just for the truck but them as well. 

“Wait, this place is alive?!” Kara cried in shock.

“No.” Alex replied with fatalistic calm. “This place is death.”

Ahead the truck was in trouble, the land rippling up behind it and drawing closer and closer. Its escort hadn’t hung around, diving around it on either side and edging clear in front. The engine screamed as its driver pushed it to its maximum… but it wasn’t enough and with an earsplitting roar it was sent hurtling end over end into the sky.

“Look!” Kara yelled, pointing to the side.

“I see it!” Sara replied, leaning down and coaxing just a little more speed from her white canary. The canyon walls were sprouting limbs of their own and closing in on the two remaining bikes. Sara gritted her teeth as she felt Kara copy her, the slim body resting on her back as they tried to make themselves as aerodynamic as possible. With seconds to spare both bikes burst into the open… but they were still in the canyons themselves. The earth was heaving like the long-gone oceans and from their right there was a sudden scream.

“Sara!” Two blonde heads snapped around in horror to see Alex snagged from her bike, a writhing limb wrapped around her body, the bike hurtling away in ruin. She was being carried to a waiting mouth that seemed eager to crush the life from her body between teeth the size of houses.

“We can’t just leave her!” Kara said and Sara sighed. They should. She knew they should. It was suicidal to go back now. But what choice did she have? Still, there was another life to consider here… 

One of the remaining Red Hood riders chose that moment to swoop in close, trying to catch them by surprise. Sara saw him coming and made her decision. 

“Go, get out of here!” She yelled, grabbing Kara’s hand and slapping it onto the handlebar of her bike. Before the young woman could argue Sara hurled herself sideways, shoulder-barging the Hood from his perch and turning the bike around with one foot wedged into the dirt, racing back towards the struggling Alex. And just like that Kara was alone.

She looked towards the edge of the large open space they’d ended up in and thought she could see a gap through the surrounding cliffs, the desert calling her invitingly. But… but if she left, if she made it home she knew she would likely do so alone. She couldn’t bear that… not after what had happened. She set her jaw and angled for the shattered wreck of the truck that was already virtually cut off by a whirling storm of rock and mud, nightmare creations flying around it as the driver pulled himself painfully along the ground. The top of the truck had been torn open and something was glowing golden amongst the wreckage.

“THIS VALLEY IS NOT FOR YOUR KIND, SKINWALKERS!” The words echoed off the cliffs, a roar of pain and rage and loss. Kara didn’t see who was talking but she got the impression it was the Earth itself.

“Okay Clayface…” The driver spat the words through his pain and as he looked up Kara saw a surprisingly young face through the shattered helmet. “Guess I can’t stop you taking my toys.” His hand closed around the glowing object and he grinned ghoulishly. “But I’m sure as hell gonna play with them first!”

“What is that?!” Kara called, slamming the bike to a stop after dodging through the maelstrom. “I thought we were fighting over spare parts.”

“Gotham City Garage fights over parts and food. And sure there’s that here too… but Red Hood M.C. only fights over one thing sweetheart.” The man said with a tired smile as he pulled the remains of his helmet off his head. “Weapons.”

His finger tapped a single red button and a computerised voice said in a monotone: “Confirmed. Solar detonation in 5…”

Kara didn’t think about what she did next and to her dying day she couldn’t explain why she’d done it. She dove forward, reaching for the device with one desperate hand.

“4” Her other hand grabbed the Red Hood rider by the jacket and hurled him away from what she was certain was a bomb.

“3” The glass case was crackling with blinding yellow energy as she reached down and pulled it to her chest.

“2” She sank to her knees, her back to both the man she’d just thrown clear and the battle she knew Sara and Alex were waging beyond the wall of clay. Above her she heard a screech and felt something enormous diving down at her and the weapon. She wrapped her body around the bomb and wished she’d been able to see Kate one more time…

“1” There was… an explosion. Kara knew there was… but it was all wrong. The energy burst out but it seemed to pass into her. It filled her up, hotter than anything she’d ever felt but somehow not burning her. On and on it went until the glass cylinder faded and lay silent… but the power was still within her, her entire body, every cell was on fire… she had to let it out!

She looked up and saw the open sky above her… and suddenly two immense blue beams shot from her eyes, slicing through the air as the clay retreated from her. She screamed more out of shock than pain and then, just as quickly as it had come, everything cut off. She was herself again… but she knew that wasn’t true. She felt… she felt powerful. Like the moment she’d thrown herself into the world from the wall of the Garden but more. Much, much more.

She heard a sound behind her and turned to see the Red Hood standing a little shakily in the dust. He was clutching his left arm and as she watched he snapped his shoulder back into its socket. All around them the canyon was gone. Not destroyed but pulled back into the earth. Whether resting or grateful she didn’t know but it seemed like it was willing to let them go.

“What… what are you?” The Red Hood muttered, staring at Kara in amazement. 

For an instant she wondered what on earth she should say. Did she even know? Then her mind caught up with her body, with what she’d just done. She raised a fist, flexing her left arm and marvelling at the power she could feel coursing through her body. And in a single Crystal-clear moment, she knew exactly what the answer was.

“Me? I’m super.” She said with a happy smile. “And you’re a suicidal idiot!”

“Touche.” 

“This rig belongs to the GCG. Say you agree.”

“I agree.”

“Good. Then take that bike and get the hell out of here.” She pointed at the last remaining Red Hood bike that was lying in the dirt twenty feet away. Where it’s rider had gone she didn’t know and would rather not find out.

“This valley isn’t for our kind.” Kara said quietly just before he could kick the bike into life. He paused, nodded, then roared away as Sara and Alex walked up behind Kara. Neither knew what to say but Kara didn’t notice. She walked up to where the truck was lying on its side and looked at it critically. The top was carved open but the important mechanical bits seemed intact from what she could tell. She reached down, placed one hand on the the chassis and paused. For a moment the reality of what she was thinking of doing weighed her down then she pushed past it. She knew what she’d done and while she wasn’t yet sure what she could do… she knew that this moment held no fear for her.

“Damn!” Alex said with a big smile on her face as to their astonishment the slim blonde they’d only known for a few days effortlessly lifted the truck up into the air. She noticed them and waved happily, holding the entire truck in one hand as it if weighed no more than a glass of beer back at the bar. She gently put the truck back on its wheels and hugged the two women as they covered the remaining ground.

“You’re strong Kara.” Sara said into her ear. “Strong enough to live. Strong enough to fight. And maybe, just maybe, strong enough to learn.” 

“I’ve got your back whenever you need me.” Alex said and Sara laughed at Kara’s surprised expression.

“That’s high praise from her, believe me!” She eyed the truck critically. “Come on, let’s see if it’ll start. And if it does… let’s go home.”

The world lurched again but to Kate’s surprise the time jump seemed small. The sun was starting to set as the truck raced through the desert, Kara at the wheel grinning proudly. Sara rode ahead, Alex on the pillion seat and both women seemed tired but happy with the day’s work. As the world started to fade Kate looked up, something grabbing her attention and saw, just for a moment, the silhouette of another bike. 

It was parked up on a rocky outcrop far above the desert floor and while she couldn’t see details the woman astride it was clearly watching the small convoy. The sun reached out and picked out a symbol Kate was unfamiliar with. Two stylised lines of gold, moving together to look like the outline of a bird spreading its wings. And on the woman’s head there was a matching glint as the last of the light caught a golden tiara with a red star in the centre…

**Author's Note:**

> Have had this one in my head for an awfully long time and it's being a joy to write. For those that don't know Gotham City Garage is a... weird limited run book from DC that's based on, well, a line of expensive statues featuring the more well known female heroes in skimpy bikers outfits. Despite the less than promising start the comics that came from it are absolutely superb and I thoroughly recommend picking them up. It's only two collected editions so to that expensive though there's a bit of what feels like filler in the second book.
> 
> What you're seeing here is *really* strongly based off those comics although it'll deviate more as we go along. If you have read them there's definitely some surprises coming up and hopefully I can keep you guessing! Hope everyone enjoys it and see you in part 2!


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